ICTSI profit climbs 15% to $40.7M

PHILIPPINE-BASED port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) reported unaudited consolidated net income of $40.7 million for the first quarter ended March 31, an increase of 15% year-on-year amid a 20% surge in revenue from port operations.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, ICTSI said container volume handled in its various ports around the world grew to 1.5 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), 12% more than the 1.34 million TEUs handled in the same period in 2012.

“The increase in volume was mainly due to the continuous growth in international and domestic trade in most of the company’s terminals and the volume generated by (its) new terminal operations in Jakarta, Indonesia and Karachi, Pakistan,” the company said.

The higher volume translated to gross revenue of $209.3 million from port operations, compared with $173.8 million for the same period last year.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) climbed 27% to $97.5 million, compared with the $76.7 million a year earlier.

Excluding the volume from the two recent port acquisitions and the effect of the cessation of operations in Syria effective January 2013, organic volume growth was relatively flat.

ICTSI’s seven key terminal operations in Manila, Brazil, Poland, Ecuador, Madagascar, China and Pakistan accounted for 79% of the group’s consolidated volume and 85% of its consolidated revenues in the first quarter.

The group attributed the increase in revenues mainly to higher storage revenues and ancillary services, favorable volume mix, tariff rate increases in certain key terminals, and the revenue contribution from the new terminals in Jakarta, Indonesia and Karachi, Pakistan.

Stripping off the revenues from the newly acquired terminals and the effect of the discontinued operations in Tartous, Syria, organic revenue growth was at 9%.

Consolidated cash operating expenses grew 15% to $84.6 million from $73.8 million a year earlier, the company said.

ICTSI issued $400 million of 10-year bonds in January 2013 mainly to fund its capital expenditure program for 2013 and refinance medium-term loans.

Capital expenditures for the first quarter of 2013 amounted to $93 million, about 17% of the $550 million capex budget for the full year 2013.

The group said the budget is mainly allocated for the terminal development projects in Argentina and Mexico and the ramp-up of construction in Colombia and Davao.